Internal-combustion engine



Dec. 23, 1924. 1,520,205

A. E (vosB'oRN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed April 2e, 1921 2 sheets-sheet 2' Patented Dec. 23, 1924.

unirse stares .ALBEN E. OSBORN, OF NEW YORK, N.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Application filed. April 26, 1921.

To a-ZZ whom I? may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBEN E. OsBoRN,

a citizen of the United States, and a residentof the city of New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to engines of the scavenging and supercompression types, the purpose of the invention being to simplify and improve engines of such nature.'

Viewed in its broad aspects, the invention involves a combination of elements whereby supplementary charges either for scavenging or supercompression purposes are inducted into the crank case or a supplementary compression chamber and are admit-ted to the combustion chamber of the engine at the proper times by means of ay piston valve of novel construction which is operated from the main power piston by suitable timing gearing.

The novel features of the invention will appear more fully as the specification proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, I have illustrated the invention embodied in one of its simple practical forms, but wish it understood that the structure may be modied without departure from the true spirit of the invention, as will be apparent from the scope of the appended claims.

Figure 1 in the drawings referred to is a vertical sectional view of the engine showing the parts in the position they assume at the commencement of the power stroke.

Figure 2 is a similar view illustrating the relation of the parts at commencement of the exhaust stroke.

Figures 3 and 4 are like views illustrating successive positions at commencement of the intake and compression strokes respectively.

In these several views, the engine cylinder is designated 5, the piston 6, the connecting rod 7 and the crank shaft 8.

At one side of the main cylinder there is provided a smaller cylinder 9 in which the port piston 1() operates. This port piston operates as a valve to control the various functions of the engine, and is for that purpose, provided with an inlet port 11 in onev Serial No. 464,543.

side thereof to register with the main inlet port 12 and with an outlet port 13 to register with the cylinder inlet port 14. y

In addition to the ports described, the valve piston is further provided at its outer side with a port 15 to register with the crank case inlet port 16, and in its opposite wall with an outlet port 17 to register with a port 18 opening into the cylinder at a point near the end of the outstroke of the piston.

The piston valve is operated from a halftime crank shaft 19 by a connecting rod 20, and this half-time crank shaft is driven` from the main crank shaft through suitable two-to-one gearing, such as Iliave indicated at 21. i n

A partition extending across the interior of the piston valve separates the upper and lower parts thereof into passages designed to carry the combustible mixture and to carry the compressed charge from the crank case, respectively. i

Operation: At con'm'iencenient of the power' stroke, the various ports arefclosed, as indicated in Figure 1. Expansion progresses until substantially the end of the power stroke is reached, as shown in Figure 2, whereupon the exhaust port at 23 is opened by reason of the head of the valve piston having been lowered far enough to uncover saidport. It will be noted in this position of the parts that the piston. valve has been lowered almost far enough for the port 15 in the outer side thereof toregister with the crank case inlet port 16 and in fact these ports commence to register as the piston starts upward on its exhaust stroke so that during said exhaust stroke, a charge of air or gas is drawn in through the ports 16, 15 into the closed crank case.

At the end of the exhaust stroke, the piston valve has risen far enough to cut off this entrance into the crank case and also to close the exhaust port, as indicated in Figure 3. On the subsequent intake stroke of the piston, the piston valve rises so as to bring the ports 11 and 13 in the opposite sides of the same into register with the cylinder intake ports 12 and '111, thereby causing a combustible charge to be inducted into the cylinder, as soon as the head of the piston uncovers the inner cylinder port 14. During this outward or downward suction stroke of the piston, the charge -which has been trapped in the crank case 'is' compressed and at approximately the end of the suction stroke, the valve piston has risen far enough, as shown in Figure 4, to bring the port 17 in the inner side thereof into register with the port 18 in the cylinder, thus allowing the compressed charge to pass directly into the cylinder above the piston. rllhis charge, whether it be plain or carbnreted air mingles with the charge taken in through the main inlet port and hence adds its force to the power of the main charge, on the following power stroke.

During the compression stroke and preferably immediately following the closing of the lower cylinder port 18 by the ascending piston, the valve piston lifts far enough for the lower end of the skirt of the same at 24 to uncover the crank case intake 16 (Figures 4 and 1), thereby causing a charge of air or gas to be inducted into the crank case during the compression stroke. This charge is trapped in the crank case, as indicated in Figure 1, at commencement of the power stroke, and is therefore compressed during the power stroke and admitted into the cylinn der above the piston during the exhaust stroke by reason of the registry at this time of the extra piston valve port 25 with the lower cylinder port 18, as clearly indicated in Figure 2. This compressed charge thus admitted constitutes a means for thoroughly scavenging the cylinder during the exhaust stroke.

The invention, it will be seen, provides simple and effective means for supercharg-v ing and scavenging purposes. rlhe port piston can be readily manufactured at comparatively small cost, is easy to lubricate, and further, operates in a heat exchanging capacity, absorbing heat from the exhaust gases and transferring the same to the ingoing charges.

To overcome leakage tendencies, the piston valve may be provided with one or more packing rings, such as l have indicated at 26.

rlhe charges taken into the crank case or compress-ion chamber may be controlled by suitable valve mechanism. I have shown such mechanism in the form of a sliding gate valve 27 adapted to be shifted to open or close up the crank case inlet 16 to a greater or less extent. This valve may be operated in conjunction with the throttle valve of the carburetor so that the supercharge may be varied in accordance with the operation of the throttle and the auxiliary charge be therefore properly proportioned to the main charge. y

Other advantages of my invention are that this construction of valve is easily changed to vary the operation of the engine. Thus, by omitting the extra admission port 25 in the piston valve, the scavenging effect (Figure 2) during the exhaust stroke will be eliminated. 0n the other hand, if the first admission port 17 in the piston valve is omitted, then the supercompression feature will be eliminated, as will be clear from Figure 4. These simple changes make it possible to operate the engine either on the scavenging or on the supercompression principles.

By eliminating the piston valve port 15, compression will take place in the crank case only on the suction stroke of the piston, it being clear from Figure 2 that if this port is omitted, no charge will be taken into the crank case on the exhaust stroke of the piston. @n the other hand, if it is desired to have compression in the crank case only on the explosion stroke of the piston, this can be accomplished by extending the skirt of the piston valve at 24, so as to keep the crank case inlet 16 covered during the compression stroke of the piston. This simply means a slight lengthening of the part 24 in Figure 4.

Nhat l claim is:

1. .ln an engine of the character described, a power cylinder and a valve cylinder, a crank case in communication with both said cylinders, a power piston operating in the power cylinder, a valve piston operating in the valve cylinder, the crank case having an induction port controlled by the valve piston, the engine and valve cylinders having intake ports and the valve piston having an intake passage for registry with said ports, said valve piston further having a passage therein separate from the intake passage and opening' to the crank case to admit charges compressed in the crank case from said crank case into the power cylinder.

2. In an engine of the character described, an engine cylinder having two intake ports, one disposed approximately at the end of the outstroke of the piston and one intermediate the stroke of the piston, a valve cylinder open to said ports-and having itself an intake port, a power piston operating in the power cylinder, a valve piston operating in the valve cylinder, said valve piston having an intake passage therethrough with ports to register with said power cylinder intake and valve cylinder ports and a separate passage with a port to register with the lower of the power cylinder intake ports.

3. In an engine of the character described, an engine cylinder having intake ports, one disposed approximately at the end of the outstroke of the piston, a valve cylinder open to said ports and having itself an intake port, a power piston operating in the power cylinder, a valve piston operating in the valve cylinder, said valve piston having an intake passage therethrough with ports to register with the power cylinder and valve cylinder ports and a separate passage with a port to register with one of the power llO cylinder ports and a closed crank case having an intake port controlled by the port piston, the last-mentioned passage in the valve piston being open to said crank case.

4. In an engine of the character described, an engine cylinder, a valve cylinder and a closed crank case in communication with both said cylinders, a power piston operating in the engine cylinder, a valve piston operating in the valve cylinder and driven from the power piston, said engine cylinder having longitudinally spaced intake ports open to the valve cylinder, the valve cylinder having an intake port and the valve piston having an inlet passage therethrough with ports to register with said valve cylinder intake port and with one of the intake ports in the power cylinder, said valve piston further having a passage separate from the said intake passage and provided with two longitudinally spaced ports adapted to register at diii'erent periods in the cycle oit operation with the other one ot' the power cylinder intake ports.

5. In an engine of the character described, an engine cylinder, a valve cylinder and a closed crank case in communication with both said cylinders, a power piston operating in the engine cylinder, a valve piston operating in the valve cylinder and driven troni the power piston, said engine cylinder having longitudinally spaced intake ports open to the valve cylinder, the valve cylinder having an intake port and the valve piston having an inlet passage therethrough with ports to register with said valve cylinder intake port and with one oit' the intake ports in the power cylinder, said valve piston further having a passage separate from the said intake passage and provided with two longitudinally spaced ports adapted to register at different periods in the cycle of operation with the other one of the power cylinderl intake ports, a closed crank case in con'nnunication with both the power and valve cylinders and provided with an inlet port and the valve piston having longitudinally spaced ports to cooperate with said crank case inlet at different periods in the cycle of crank operation.

6. In an engine of the character described, an engine cylinder, a valve cylinder and a closed crank case in communication with both said cylinders, a power piston operating in the engine cylinder, a valve piston operating in the valve cylinder and driven from the power piston, said engine cylinder having longitudinally spaced intake ports open to the valve cylinder, the valve cylinder having an intake port and the valve piston having an inlet passage therethrough with ports to register with said valve cylinder intake port and with one of the intake ports in the power cylinder, said valve piston further having a passage separate from the said intake passage and provided with two longitudinally spaced ports adapted to register at different periods in the cycle of operation with the other one of the power cylinder intake ports, a closed crank case in communication with both the power and valve cylinders and provided with an inlet port and the valve piston having longitudinally spaced ports to cooperate with said crank case inlet at different periods in the cycle of valve operation, one of said last-mentioned valve ports being disposed at the end of the valve piston.

7. In an engine of the character described,

an engine cylinderl having intake ports, one disposed approximately at the end f the outstroke of the piston, a valve cylinder open to said ports and having itself an intake port, a power piston operating in the power cylinder, a vvalve piston operating in the valve cylinder, said valve piston having an intake passage therethrough with ports to register with the power cylinder and valve cylinder ports and a separate passage with a port to register with one of the power cylinder ports, the valve cylinder further having an exhaust port and the piston valve adapted to control said exhaust port.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 22nd day of April, 1921.

ALDEN E. OSBORN. 

